Why Content is Queen: The Secret Sauce to Impactful Learning Programmes

If your organisation delivers learning and development sessions for young people, prioritising quality content is essential. It’s not only King, it’s Queen as it lays the foundation to your overall success. 

Invest in it wisely and you’ll create programmes that genuinely motivate young people and adequately prepare workshop facilitators to shine in their role. 

At Connectr, we surveyed teachers and careers education leads at schools and colleges who regularly organise employment engagement initiatives. Their insights revealed the three most important factors that impact the quality of these programmes. A resounding 95% of them identified thefollowing top three: 

✓ Quality of session content 

✓ Quality of facilitation 

✓ Type of delivery (virtual or in-person) 

Imagine your sessions are like a stage play preparing to be performed in a theatre. A well-crafted script is the springboard for actors that shift and provoke audiences. Similarly, your learning content is the script for facilitators. It’s not just about delivering information - it’s about creating an experience that resonates and makes your message unforgettable. Your words, imagery and resources are your vehicle for being seen, heard and understood in the way you intend. A skilled content writer will bring the human touch to facts and figures, encouraging young people to like, know and trust your organisation and its future potential.

As a Learning Content Manager, I invest my time creating and shaping content that’s tailored to your audience and company values. Sure, a rough first draft can be churned out at rapid speed, but the transformation comes through refinement. Going back to the stage play analogy, the average playwright redrafts their play 5-10 times before it’s ready for an audience!

Why the magic happens in the edit: 

• More Depth Refining content adds more thought-provoking insights.
• Better Flow  Clear structure and formatting makes sessions easier to follow.
• Less is More  Being concise removes unnecessary fluff, sharpening the message.
• Unique Offering  Encourages original, interactive activities that enhance engagement.
• Credibility Strong grammar, punctuation and spell checking build trust.

Let’s talk about the elephant in the room: AI. Is it cheating? I don’t think so.

It’s an enhancement. Using AI is like using a calculator – it can assist with the process, but it doesn’t do all the work for you. Tools like Chat GPT assist me with idea generation, research and refining sentences. But we still need to ensure the content connects emotionally, sounds human and is fact-checked. I draw upon my 10 years’ experience as an early careers’ facilitator to devise and adapt activities that I know will land well with audiences not just in theory, but in reality. 

Our approach focuses on:

1. Connecting Content with Your ‘Why’ Aligning content with your goals and regularly revisiting motivations to stay on track.
2. In-depth Research Evaluating your information through the lens of an aspiring young professional, breaking down complex topics into digestible chunks. Jargon busting is our forte.
3. Capturing Human Stories Shining a light on the people inside your business and sharing their real, relatable insights. 
4. Writing how we speak Creating interactive session content designed to be spoken rather than read. We replace large chunks of essay-style information into easy-to-follow visuals and bullet points to prompt the presenter to speak freely to add further depth. 
5. Simplicity  Career exploration can be an overwhelming process. Not all students come from the same educational or socio-economic background, and some may have different learning styles or levels of literacy. Simple language ensures everyone, regardless of background, can access and benefit from the content.
6. Making it Fun Creating engaging, interactive content that sparks curiosity and encourages problem-solving skills. Fun learning experiences leave a lasting impression that helps students develop career readiness skills that last a lifetime. 

What impact is your current learning and development content having on the next generation of talent? We would love to help you transform your impact. Let’s connect to discuss how quality content can drive your social mobility and talent attraction goals.